We all know the usual budget derailments like car repairs, Starbucks runs, iPhones, and eating out. But what about those not-so-obvious cash drains like Facebook applications? Not so, you say. They’re just fun time wasters on a great social media site and besides, what else am I going to do since I’m still unemployed?

Ok. I can accept your point. After all, enough people have commented about Facebook providing an unexpected silver lining during some very rough times. So many old friends to find, so much news to catch up on, so many great applications to check out.

And unfortunately, a few new ways to bust the budget.

Frankly, I was a reluctant Facebooker. I had no time and even less interest. But I was told, in no uncertain terms, that if I wanted to keep in touch with my socially hip friends, I had to join. Apparently, email is as passé as a handwritten letter – who knew?

So I sucked it up, created an account, and had some fun.

I didn’t get the Farmville and Mafia Wars hype though, especially when I found out users could buy virtual privileges. It just didn’t make sense to me. If I’m already on a budget for real life items, why would I want to blow money on virtual stuff I can’t even use?

And then there are the tests assessing your 70’s groove thang, sports personality, or doppelganger tendencies. Call me misanthropic, but I don’t feel comfortable about an app arbitrarily accessing my personal account information. It reminds me too much of a crowded farmers’ market – lots of people, lots of distractions, lots of temptation for pickpockets.

Turns out I was right. In addition to the Farmville and Mafia Wars budget busters, some of these applications are scams.

The IQ test is one of them.

For some reason, this keeps making the rounds, even though alerts have been going out about it for some time now. “Test Your I.Q.”, supposedly rates your intelligence but is really just checking whether you review your phone bill. The quiz works by asking you a set number of questions and you get the results only after the site receives your phone number.

Give up the number and you’re out up to $10 per week in additional phone charges. If your child takes enough of these tests, you as the parent could be in for a nasty surprise at the end of the month.

How to stop it? Don’t give out your cell phone number. Better yet, don’t engage the apps.

The Western Union emergency is another I’ve been hearing about lately.

Your account gets hacked by either a fake Facebook landing page, the Koobface worm or other seemingly innocuous application. The hacker logs in, trolls around to find online friends, and then sends an emergency message about a mugging, break-in, drive-by, or some other kind of creative accident.

“Hey Joe, I’ve been mugged and everything was swiped. Can you please send a few bucks through Western Union? I only need about $250 and I’ll pay you back when I get home…..(Sucker!)”

This is an easy tug on the old heartstrings, especially if the message comes from a good friend who’s been there for you in difficult times. How to stop it? One source recommends asking the “victim” for a confirmation call. If we’ve been mugged, we won’t mind contacting you directly. And if we’ve been mugged, why the heck are we on Facebook contacting you??

But what if the hacker claims the phone was stolen?

Offer to call them. Not only will you confirm that a problem exists but if there is no emergency, you can let your buddy know their page has been hacked and should be deleted. After all, lost time is a lot easier to replace than lost money. Especially if you can’t afford this kind of budget derailment in the first place.

Other articles of interest:

Time Magazine: Are you getting scammed by Facebook games?

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